RVentures with Doug and Chris: Culture Shock and Settling Into A New Norm

Sunshine and blue skies ... flowers in bloom ... temps in the 70s and 80s every day. What could be better than spending the winter in Medellin?? We were confident that we had arrived in paradise as we enjoyed our first few weeks here.

But as our time progressed into the third, fourth and fifth week, my view of our current situation began to change. I wasn´t catching on to the Spanish like I had hoped. The noise and traffic of this large city was a bit nerve-wrecking at times. And as hard as Doug tried, I was missing those special friendships of ¨home¨. I started to question our decision to spend four months in Colombia. And I was feeling a bit guilty, especially after hearing about the ¨abundance¨ of snow that our northern friends were dealing with.

Yikes!!! That´s a lot of snow in front
of our former Minnesota home!

It was a blog entry of another couple that we met here in Medellin that helped me realize that my feelings were best diagnosed as a simple case of ¨culture shock¨. Marc and Kathy are even more adventurous than us ... they retired, sold everything, and are living in different Spanish-speaking countries for periods of three to six months. They had been living in Medellin for three months when we met up with them, and Kathy´s ¨advice¨ and support came at the perfect time for me.

Over dinner one evening on a beautiful roof-top cafe, Kathy reassured me that my feelings were ¨normal¨ and gave me suggestions to help me adjust to our new surroundings. Her best piece of advice was to not be afraid to get out of my comfort zone. With Doug´s help, I have done that over the past few weeks ... and am grateful to feel like I am settling into a new and different ... but also wonderful ¨norm¨.

We are connecting with a few local hiking groups and discovering ...

serene mountain trails,

beautiful urban gardens,

and the chance to practice our
Spanish skills (or lack thereof) with hikers
from Medellin and all around the world.

We are hopping on the Metro and discovering ...

serene town squares with wonderful
people-watching opportunities,

orchids in bloom at the Botanical Gardens,

and a friendly iguana just soaking in the sun.

We are walking around our neighborhood and discovering ...

a medieval castle,

modern art,

and a Colombian coaster for Doug´s collection.

We are attending language exchanges and discovering ...

new friendships with enthusiastic
young people desiring to learn English,

new cooking skills as I learn
to make empanadas,

and new opportunities to share ideas
about healthcare as I converse with
a fellow RN from Medellin.

But what I was really missing was a connection to the Medellin community that is best found through volunteer opportunities. Two weeks ago, I found that missing part. During one of our hikes, Doug and I heard about a volunteer organization that was looking for teachers to work with local students wanting to learn English. We decided to take the chance and volunteer with Proyecto Prime.

It was JUST WHAT I NEEDED!!

Every Wednesday afternoon and on Monday and Friday mornings when we aren´t taking Spanish classes, we venture across town to work with children and adults who want to learn English. It is the ultimate WIN-WIN situation. The students are able to work on their pronunciation of the many difficult vowel sounds that English has to offer while I get valuable practice time listening to and speaking Spanish. Some of my best Spanish ¨profesores¨ have been the children at Proyecto Prime who want to learn English.

Living in another country hasn´t been easy. If it were, Doug frequently reminds me, everyone would be doing it. Yes, there have been quite a few culture ¨shocks¨ along the way,

but it is the smiles ....